how do I apply for a job internally without my boss knowing?

by Alison Green on February 18, 2025

A reader writes:

I have many questions about applying to internal jobs, something I have never done. At my current company, a new role came up that is a dream job for me. But it is also a reach, as it would be a bit of a career change. Knowing this job might open up, I’ve been making efforts to get to know the hiring manager, and I think we have a good relationship. But how do I actually navigate applying?

I know it’s best practice not to tell your manager when you are job hunting, but what about when the job you’re applying for is an internal one? My manager is fair and a nice person, but I still don’t want them to know I’m looking to move on.

Would it be beneficial for me to reach out to the hiring manager before the job is posted, or should I wait and apply through the usual process once the posting is live? I’m inclined to contact them first, as we have a solid, though relatively new, rapport.

If I tell the hiring manager discreetly about my interest in the job, can I ask them to keep my interest under wraps? Or is that weird and not done? I’ve expressed a lot of interest in their work, so I don’t think it will be a massive surprise that I want to apply.

I believe I have a better chance at a stretch job at a company where I already work and have a strong reputation, compared to applying for a stretch job externally. However, is it worth the risk of upsetting my current manager or damaging my reputation here for an internal opportunity? If I want to apply for a job that’s a reach, would it be less risky to do it outside my company?

My preference is to get this internal job, but if I don’t, I’ll be applying outside the company eventually, although I’m in no huge rush. I think the smart thing to do would be to start my external job hunt at the same time as internally applying, so if my manager is upset or my reputation is dinged, I’ll hopefully have other options.

Honestly, I’m feeling super overwhelmed just thinking about a full-on job hunt with everything else going on in my life! But do I just need to buckle down and go for it?

You can read my answer to this letter at New York Magazine today. Head over there to read it.

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{ 57 comments }

{ 57 comments… read them below }

  1. NoSecrets*

    OP, when you apply internally you have to expect your current boss to know you’re applying, full stop. If you’re not okay with that, don’t apply.

    1. Not Tom, Just Petty*

      My company has an application form that you and the manager have to sign. Which is a good thing. It means it is standard practice. The company thinks ahead about employees and their careers.

      1. chocolate lover*

        It may be good if you have a good manager, and not someone who punishes you for wanting to leave. My previous manager was volatile and aggressive and I would have left the organization all together if I had been required to tell her. Thankfully my organization does not require we tell our current managers, so I was able to apply to another position and gave my notice when I got the position.

        1. Zona the Great*

          Yes, my former manager committed various civil rights violations against women and she actively thwarted attempts at transferring out of her department. That the organization still required a sign-off from a known abuser is wrong. Orgs that stand by their policies even when obviously wrong are short sighted.

          1. Friendo*

            Isn’t the answer here “don’t have a manager that commits civil rights violations” not “don’t have managers involved in transfers because some of them are committing civil rights violations”?

        2. A Simple Narwhal*

          Agreed. I remember my first job out of college insisted up and down that they encouraged people to move internally, that everyone had strengths that might be better utilized elsewhere and their goal was to retain talent no matter in what job that was. Except you needed your boss’s buy-in and approval to transfer, and if you had a crappy boss like mine, that was never going to happen.

          I went to school for lets say accounting, and wanted a job in accounting. I was hired into a non-accounting role but encouraged to apply for a transfer after a year. After a year of being fine (but not amazing) at the job, I put in a transfer request. You’d think it was a no-brainer – I wasn’t killing it in my current role but I was a good fit for the new one, and it opened up a role on my current team for someone better suited to it. It resulted in my boss screaming at me for daring to think I could ever transfer, and that I must be a certain kind of stupid for thinking she would ever “inflict” me on a different department and ruin her good name, and that I had to be a rockstar at my current job before she would ever consider allowing a transfer.

          It made zero sense. If I was an amazing perfect fit at this job, why would I be transferring? And then I saw her screaming at the actual team rockstar for wanting to transfer and I realized she was just a horrible manager, and that no one was ever going to be allowed to transfer off of her team. We both ended up quitting instead. My loss was maybe meh, but the loss of the rockstar was far more substantial.

          So yea, I’m wary of companies placing 100% of the transfer power in the hands of your manager.

        3. Working under my down comforter*

          Same here. I’ve had colleagues try to switch to our outer offices for promotional roles only to be confronted by their manager asking about it and trying to argue against it.

        1. Zephy*

          +1. We sometimes get emails from central HR with openings (we have many locations throughout the state), and all of them say “get your current manager’s permission and then send application materials to [hiring manager].”

          1. WillowSunstar*

            Ah, for ours they don’t reveal the name of the hiring manager. If you know someone in the dept., you can ask around, but that’s often the best you can do.

    2. Aggretsuko*

      Back in the day, I only told supervisors when I had gotten an interview for another job–until then, you might not be wanted and you don’t have to tell, in my opinion. Since my reputation was in the shitter (and in one boss’s case, he’d just quit so he no longer had to care), they were totally fine with it. But if you have a boss who would punish you for looking elsewhere within the organization….that’s something to keep in mind about trying.

    3. Umami*

      This 100%!. Since OP wants to stay with their organization, it stands to reason that it’s a healthy work environment, so talk to your boss! It’s much more awkward to have those conversations after someone else tells your boss, especially if they can be an advocate. there are still good supervisors out there!

      1. Marion Ravenwood*

        Yes I agree. I had this experience last year when my contract at my previous job was coming to an end but I would have liked to stay with the organisation, and I made it clear to my boss that would have been the ideal outcome for me. She was super helpful in terms of pointing me towards opportunities internally, encouraging me to apply for things, sharing feedback she’d got with me afterwards etc, and even though it unfortunately didn’t work out I was very grateful for that support.

    4. Stoney Lonesome*

      I recently applied for an internal position in a different, but related department. I really wasn’t sure when or if to tell my boss. After I made it through the first round of interviews, I ended up just asking my boss at the end of our usual one-on-one if she already knew that I had applied. She, of course, did know and was going to be on the panel for the second round of interviews.

      At the same time, one of my staff also applied for an internal position (same department, different manager, step up from his current job). The hiring manager reached out to me before offering my employee an interview to get my thoughts on his candidacy. I talked to my employee the next day and told him that I knew he had applied and I thought he would be a good fit for the role. I just wanted to clear up the awkwardness of who knows what immediately.

      1. Marion Ravenwood*

        Same thing happened to me last year (although in my case it was my grandboss on the panel). I didn’t get the role, but she gave me some great feedback and said she was really pleased to see my name on the list, and talked about how much of an improvement she’d seen in me since my first interview with the organisation. That really meant a lot and was a huge boost in my job hunt.

    5. LaminarFlow*

      I have only worked at companies where it is expected that employees will notify their manager about moving to another team. The thought being that the employee who is looking to move will be supported by their current manager. Of course, sometimes, this process doesn’t work out as planned, but it typically does.

      I have been surprised at the level of commitment some of my managers have shown in regards to contacting the hiring manager on my behalf, singing my praises, forwarding performance reviews, etc., etc.

      Companies and managers should want their employees to expand their skill sets, which frequently means moving up or moving to a different team.

    6. Venus*

      I agree, though one option is to say that you’re really interested in moving there someday and want to go through the process now so that you can better understand where to refine your competencies if you don’t get chosen. If you acknowledge that it’s a stretch, and that you’re applying because you want to gain experience and work toward becoming a stronger employee, then that can be one way to make the current manager feel like you’re still happy where you are.

    7. Not a Girl Boss*

      At 3 separate organizations I’ve been a manager, Workday sends an automatic email to the current manager whenever someone applies to an internal role.

    8. Sam Foster*

      Exactly. Many the companies I’ve worked for actually have policy that says you need to tell your current boss you are applying.

  2. Not Tom, Just Petty*

    I know this seems daunting to you, but to your experienced people in your company it really is another day at the office. This is a normal situation, a normal series of events. When it’s time to tell your current manager, you say that this struck you as great opportunity, specifically because it IS in house and you’d have a chance to see if it was what you thought, and if the manager there thought it was a good progression. It doesn’t automatically indicate that you are job hunting, just that you are an engaged, proactive employee.
    Good luck.

  3. chocolate lover*

    Thankfully my organization doesn’t require us to inform our current manager when applying for another position internally. I wouldn’t have wanted my previous manager to know, because she was volatile and would have punished me for it. I asked to keep my application confidential and I know they did, because she didn’t confront me about it, and she absolutely would have.

    Even with a good manager relationship, I would probably keep it to myself, just to be on the safe side and feel awkward.

  4. Blue Leader 2.0*

    As a leader, it makes me sad that people need to hide that they’re interested in new opportunities. My stance has always been that part of my role is to help those on my team learn and grow in the way that’s best FOR THEM. If that’s with me, awesome, let’s talk about what that means for training and growth assignments. If that’s not with me, let’s talk about where you want to be and how I can support you getting there. Creating relationships and supporting others should be why we become leaders to begin with.

  5. mlem*

    I was once scouted for a different internal role. Being interested, I followed the scouting supervisor’s (Davin’s) directions. Then my supervisor at the time (Rena) pulled me aside and asked if I was happy with my job. I liked what I did well enough, so I answered that I was … and then Davin later told me that he’d been told I wasn’t interested in the position I was offering after all!

    I didn’t know at the time that the supervisors talked these things over with each other or what Rena’s real question was meant to be. (I’m not always particularly good at picking up social nuance.) In retrospect, this was a know-your-organization situation.

    So that’s the advice I’d give to the LW — find out how this works with your org! The potential new boss should be a good source of advice for that. Do you have to go on an internal transfer-request list to apply in the first place? If your current boss gets wind of your interest, how should you respond to their questions? Etc.

  6. Snow Globe*

    I appreciate you saying this. I’ve had bosses that were really helpful when I let them know I was interested in moving to another position.

  7. birdloverextreme*

    At my company it is required to tell your manager you are applying. We’re lucky in that we’re very encouraging (mostly) of such things but it does make me very uncomfortable to mandate it.

    1. VP of Monitoring Employees' LinkedIn Profiles*

      Would your manager have the authority to veto your application?

  8. Umami*

    Of you have every reason to believe your current manager is a good one, tell her! Her endorsement could be very useful, and good managers support advancement of their team members. My one regret as a manager is that the prevailing advice caused one of my former staff members to apply to an internal job without me knowing, and I would have been happy to support her. I am now in an advanced role in my compost because I was transparent with my boss about applying for a stretch opportunity (that I didn’t get), but he gave me such a great endorsement that when the selected candidate flamed our after a year, I was direct appointed to the job. In the right environment, sharing your goals works in your favor!

    2. AnotherOne*

      Yeah, my coworker is moving to another dept- and everyone is thrilled for him, it’s a great opportunity where he’ll have lots of growth opportunities. Plus it’ll give our department a connection there so when we need to know who to contact, one of our options can be ’email former coworker.’

      Some other departments are essentially black boxes to us and we’re totally dependent on random contacts we’ve made over the years.

  9. Tradd*

    Years ago (early 90s), at my second job after college, I wanted to transfer to another department after 2 years in original position. The other department wanted me bad. The manager even requested I apply. My current manager refused to allow me to even interview. The company ended up losing me totally.

  10. learnedthehardway*

    Realistically speaking, there is no way that the OP’s manager is going to not hear about this.

    In fact, most companies have (or should have) a policy that employees must inform their manager at some point during the process of looking at an internal move.

    If the OP is really concerned about retaliation, their reputation being trashed by their manager, or being blocked from progressing in the company, they should probably look for external job opportunities, because the culture of the employer is a problem.

  11. Spicy Tuna*

    This happened to me three times at the same company. The first two times, my current boss actually suggested it as the company was reorganizing, so the move was a way for the company to keep high performers by moving them to other roles in the company.

    The third time, I saw an internal posting that I thought I would be interested in. I made an appointment to meet with the hiring manager to get more information on the role before I mentioned anything to my current boss. After speaking with the hiring manager, I realized the role would not be a good fit, so I didn’t apply, and I saved myself the agita of mentioning it to my boss.

    This company, like many others, did require that the current manager was aware and approved of the person applying for the other fole.

  12. Cupcakes are awesome*

    In a perfect world you would tell your boss about your interest in this internal job- and then they would go to bat for you by helping you home your skills and putting in a good word for you with the new hiring manager.

    1. Umami*

      This is one of those comments that makes me want to scream YES! Because I am fortunate to (currently) work for a company like this, but the prevailing advice doesn’t fit my organizational culture. I get it, I’ve worked for crappy places, but there are companies or bosses out there who truly care about your advancement.

  13. JustBeADecentManager*

    If their manager is a decent manager they shouldn’t worry. I am always thrilled for my team to move up in the company, even if that means leaving my team. If I have someone tell me “I love my current job but I’m interested in X position as a next step” I immediately go to bat for them with the hiring manager and HR (as long as they are a strong employee).

  14. spcepickle*

    I am a manager and I always want to know when my people are ready to grow. It is a conversation I have with all my direct reports both about themselves and about their reports. It is great for the company to grow people internally and honestly it is great for me to have connections in other departments.

    If I heard (and if you are talking to other managers I will almost for sure hear) that you were interested in a stretch (or any other) position I can help. I can get you some training or assign some tasks that will give you the new skills. I can talk you up to other managers and help connect you with a mentor. And if the truth is that it is not the right position for you we have a discussion about why and what growth opportunities there are for you. This is a standard conversation your manager should be having with you on a regular basis.

    I personally applied for a promotion in my company – everyone knew (my boss was on the interview panel) I didn’t get the position, and it was . . . fine. The person they picked had different experience and I understood why they picked him over me. My boss gave me good feedback about small tweaks I could make in the interview process. When a similar position opened 6 months later I was encouraged to apply and got the promotion.

  15. Emmie*

    Managers are notified if you advance in the process. However, assuming there are no terrible internal dynamics to consider, you can tactfully avoid hard feelings. I have applied for roles within other departments myself, both accepting and being declined for positions. Through my experience, I’ve found that the following talking points can be useful:

    – I am not looking to leave the company.
    – I heard about or came across a role that involves more of [tasks I excel at or am interested in], and I wanted to express my interest.
    – Telling my manager that my application is not a reflection on them, and I truly enjoy working with my manager.
    – When true, I am really grateful for how my career has grown under their leadership.
    – When true, I would regret not giving this opportunity a try.
    – I am happy at the company and am committed to staying there (even if that’s not always the case for everyone).
    – If true: You’ll still be happy working for them on the tasks you are doing if the role does not work out.
    – Alternatively: Express your interest in tasks or learning opportunities if the role does not work out.

    Framing your intentions correctly can avoid some of the hard feelings you are worried about. Sometimes manages are notified automatically in applicant tracking systems or manually notified by someone in the process. Managers don’t want to be surprised. Plus, you want to be the person framing the message to your boss.

    1. Daisy-dog*

      All wonderful talking points!

      In my experience, I once expressed interest in a role that had opened up. I expressed interest too late as the role was in the process of being filled, but my manager told me, “Wow, I didn’t realize you were interested in this! If that’s the direction you want to go, I can start teaching you things like X and giving you tasks like Y.” She wasn’t even that great of a manager, but this seems to be the instinct of anyone not toxic.

      1. Emmie*

        I’ve had that happen too and it surprised me. Congratulations on getting that extra training. What a terrific and inspiring outcome!

  16. Erin*

    Any time I’ve applied to an internal position at my company, when I submitted the application, it automatically emailed the hiring manager and my current manager. just something to be aware of in case your system works the same. I had a new manager (she was new in role and be to the company and was getting to know me and my role), I wasn’t getting along with her, we had an argument about my fundamental job duties after I sent her my job description, and I hung up our call and immediately applied for an internal position I was interested in, forgetting about the automatic email she would receive… led to some awkward conversations with her later, but it all worked out and I got the transfer.

  17. Names are Hard*

    just Fyi, my company uses Workday and has it configured so that a notification automatically goes to your manager if you APPLY for an internal job. I have fiercely advocated against this and as far as I know, my efforts have had no impact. I tell as many people as I can naturally, to hopefully at least develop a common knowledge so that people can be prepared.

    for OP – what I have done is advised other people to give their manager a heads up when they apply because of the above. a good manager should be interested in your professional development even if it means a role change, and a bad manager is likely going to hold it against you either way, but worse if you “went behind their back” (from their POV). And an application doesn’t mean you will definitely get hired OR that you’ll even want the job if you get interviewed!

  18. Alton Brown's Evil Twin*

    Here’s the thing: in good companies, this isn’t OPs problem to work out. People move around, so management anticipates this and builds in slack, C-suite and HR hire managers that will work collegially with each other and won’t hoard personnel, there are procedures already worked out for every part of the process including annual reviews with input from 2 managers, etc.

    So the first thing OP should do is figure out if they are at a company that handles this stuff in stride or not.

  19. An Australian in London*

    The number of managers I’ve worked with – not my own direct manager – whom I’d trust to put their relationship with me above their relationship with their-peer-my-manager are zero.

    If this was an old old friend whose trust was proven, *and* you were both new in the same workplace, then *maybe* they might feel they owed more to you than to their peer relationships.

    As the very first comment says: once you apply or even show interest you should assume your manager – and probably everyone else – will know.

  20. esquared*

    The advice I have given within my org on this subject is, talk with the hiring manager (15 min or so as a “what are you looking for”/”anything I should know as a candidate”) before formally applying to understand if you even have a shot and to determine if you are still interested after understanding the role and what the hiring manager is looking for. Then talk to your manager. We have to have approval from our managers to change roles/they have to certify you are eligible for a new role (length of time in current position, in good standing, etc). The reason I advise this is 1. Just like external roles, sometimes the role on paper and reality can be different. 2. There already may be a preferred candidate and if it’s at all a stretch, you want to know that going in. 3. Our HR system tracks previous jobs applied for and this can be viewed negatively if you apply for a lot of roles and don’t get them.

  21. Jiffy #6*

    I remember applying to an internal job. I had to notify my boss in advance. Fact is, I liked my boss. Fact also is, I didn’t want her to think I was unhappy. Fact was, I was really interested in that particular job. So that’s what I told her. And she was good about it. But also, company handled it badly. Had one interview with the department. Didn’t hear from anyone about anything for about a month. And then didn’t get the job, which was fine. Though, what I did get was a form letter from HR meant for outside candidates rejecting me from the job. The letter, which arrived by interoffice mail, recommended I visit the public jobs webpage for future opportunities. It was disappointing. I didn’t apply for another job while I was there.

  22. You want stories, I got stories*

    My last company, I was transferred under a terrible boss and I did my best to get transferred somewhere else. I internally applied and there was a question, “did you tell your current boss.” Which I marked no. HR comes back, “You need to tell your boss before you can get an interview.” So I tell my boss and later that day, I get rejected for the transfer from HR. They told me the manager passed on my application. To which I questioned, “Well why did I have to tell my boss then?” And there answer was, “Because.”
    After that I checked the box that I had discussed with my box but never did.
    Eventually it was discovered she had marked me low on my performance review to get my to transfer, but in doing so, I was ineligible to transfer.

  23. is the math right ?*

    Depends on how closely related the roles are and how well the managers know each other. I applied to one role in a closely related team and the hiring manager upfront told me he would have to have a conversation with my current boss. (I did not get that role).

    The internal role I eventually was offered and accepted was at a completely different location in a different role. I don’t think my new boss and old boss ever said more than 3 words to each other.

    Internal politics also play a role in weird ways. Is your current manager influential – will there be backlash if the other team is seen as poaching your skills ?

  24. Anonish*

    At my first full-time job, more than 30 years ago, I applied for an internal opportunity but did not tell my manager, who was bitter and toxic to work with – this was in an academic department, and he had some personal issues around his place in that organization. When the news that I had applied reached him, he was even more angry and toxic than usual, full-on shouting at me about how disloyal it was for me to try to leave his department. I never forgot that. I have been cautious about applying internally ever since. Sometimes I have disclosed, sometimes not, depends on the dynamics.

  25. JJ*

    I agree with other posters to say that it is quite likely that your current boss will hear about your application one way or another, so you should act accordingly.
    How long you have already worked for your current boss is an important factor. The shorter it has been, the higher the likelihood of this backfiring, since OP might be labeled unmotivated / flight risk, and both bosses may not want them as an employee.
    This is particularly true since the new job is very different from the current one – you have the risk of signaling to your current boss that you are fundamentally uninterested in your current work (not just that you have outgrown your current responsibilities), and you presumably have little to prove your skills in the new job except what work quality and work ethic at your current job, so if your current boss cannot vouch for that, it will not go smoothly.
    In cases that I have seen this work, employees had an honest conversation with the boss to look for other jobs internally, and applied with their blessing. If this doesn’t seem realistic I would recommend looking elsewhere.

  26. KatieP*

    I would let your supervisor know what’s up. Some HR software will notify supervisors if their employees apply for internal positions. We use Workday and I’m glad my employee had talked to me about transferring before Workday started sending me notices that she was applying for other positions. It would have been a rude shock, otherwise.

  27. Another Anon*

    A different twist happened to me:
    My so-so manager didn’t get along with me and wanted to hire somebody cheaper . Said manager started dropping hints about jobs in other departments (that were quite toxic) and tried to smooth my way in.
    Manager was disappointed when I didn’t transfer. Cheaper hire later turned out to be useless.

  28. HalesBopp*

    I had a situation in which I was the hiring manager for an internal transfer. I interviewed the staff and extended the offer. The staff let me know during the interview process that her acting manager would likely not be happy that the staff was leaving. I didn’t think much of it at the time. The staff notified their acting manager, who proceeded to *lose her ever loving mind*. Both the acting manager, and the acting manager’s boss, were so angry with ME, that I had dared interview one of their staff and extend an offer without speaking with them first. The big boss (who was peer level to me) basically told me that I should have sought their permission before even interviewing this staff, and that was what she always did with other departments, because she didn’t want anyone to be left “without coverage.” I basically said, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” and just left it at that. They then proceeded to hold my staff hostage for over a month in the transfer process due to “coverage.”

    In our most recent round of policies updates, I was able to advocate that transfer times may not exceed 20 calendar days. I wish more companies would create a culture where internal transfers are seen in a positive light.

  29. MCMonkeybean*

    I think in most places it’s pretty unlikely you could get through the entire hiring process up to the final stages without your boss knowing. I would say it’s best to get ahead and tell her yourself which makes it easier to frame it like you’re happy with your job any not actively looking to leave it, but you heard about this opportunity on another team and we’re interested in finding out whether you would be a good fit.

    If you go through it without talking to you boss first and she finds out from another manager then it’s much more likely to come across as you are actively looking to leave and don’t want her to know.

    Since this is a stretch job, then I’d probably talk to the hiring manager first and ask for her thoughts on whether they’d consider you as a candidate, and if they say no then you don’t need to bother talking to your boss. But if they respond positively and you decide to move forward with the process I would definitely talk to my boss about it to make sure it is framed the way I want.

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